The Horn The Hunt - The Drop, Stoke Newington 30 Nov 2010

Is this a new genre we see before us? It might be half in jest or maybe you read it hear first. Slightly tired of being lumped in with the current Witch House zeitgeist, The Horn The Hunt have decided that their musical spirit should be described as 'Black Pop', given that in their view what they play is pop music. They might well be right, but based on tonight's performance, it's pop with brooding malevolence in its heart. Synth-heavy against recorded drums, and with Jo Osbourne's bass played as a lead instrument, everything's a bit darkly dramatic.



Osbourne comes on stage looking like a caveman, feet un-clad and with a bear skin cast round his shoulders, the whole thing rounded off by, er.. jogging bottoms? Vocalist Clare Carter is looking like a Viking warrior and her impassioned delivery completes the feeling of invasion from some 'other' world.

Without a doubt, best of the bunch is 'Raptor', their current single with its banging gothy persistence. Almost in the same league is 'Henry's Out' with its clicky percussion, this being the 'other' track on the single release. Both of these demonstrate cohesive, quality writing, and 'Raptor' in particular is good enough to garner new fans on first listen.

THTH have a new album slotted for release in a couple of months, and frankly I was expecting to hear tracks from that getting a good going over, but everything else tonight is from their older eponymous album, which is a slight disappointment. It's good enough, but despite the tracks having been around longer, they sound nothing like as worked through as the two off the the single.

It was still good enough to make me want to see them again. Based on the single release I'm gagging to hear the new stuff, and if they get out live with a slightly expanded band, that will be well worth looking out.

Set list : The Valley / Raptor / I Miss The Catastrophe / Let It Slip / Old Hunting Ground / Henry's Out / Black Light, White Noise / Hit & Run

Pure Groove Christmas Pop Up Shop

Dang. Pure Groove are regaining a physical presence for a week up in Bloomsbury. Excellent news! Where will I be? Stuck somewhere on a job all week. Rats! I would have loved this, it looks like cracking live music all week. If you're in London 13 - 17 Dec it's worth checking out. No, I'm not on the payroll, nothing like that, I just like the cut of their jib

http://www.puregroove.co.uk/pages/Pure-Groove-Xmas-Shop.html

Evi Vine... And So The Morning Comes

I've lived with Evi Vine's album ‘... And So The Morning Comes’ for the best part of a month now and gotten used to its ways. Let me say from the outset that it is a thing of quietly muted attraction and one that both needs and repays persistence. It's almost too well mannered for it's own good and it runs the risk that it could become a safe dinner party soundtrack somewhere in Islington. Given full attention though, and played at enough volume to bring out the detail, it works. The first couple of tracks in particular put me in the emotional place I'd last found myself sitting simmering on outdoor couches on a Greek island whilst white sheets twitched in the breeze - the listless beauty of torpid and trance like days. There is cello in most of the tracks along with Rhodes piano. These and Evi's slowly unwinding voice add to a cohesive piece of mood music.

It takes until the third track 'In This Moment' to reveal a more assertive side to its beauty. This song shimmers in like a reflection on water gently disrupted by the ripples of a passing swan, but then Evi's voice takes off far more than hitherto, soaring high. The instrumentation becomes more expansive, till voice and instruments seem to use each other as stepping stones to the heights.
'Inside Her' is slow and acoustic, back to still days by glassy water
'Colours of the Night' is very different proposition. It leads in with harp by Tom Moth, who otherwise graces the stage with Florence Welch. Evi's voice is more clearly enunciated, words pushed forward by the harp. As the track opens up, bass, guitar and then cello and harp dance as ephemerally as mayflies.
'Kiss' sees Evi sing "I could cope with no rain, I could cope with no heaven" and the sound of a kettle drum and shakers - this is late night reverie indeed, and a mood which persists through sparse and hypnotic closing track 'All The Beauty'. This is not a hook laden record, certainly not one to dance to. On the other hand if you are looking for contemplative, that repays attention, then this might have your name written all over it.

Despite having been performing for the last 5 years, Evi’s only previous release was a 4 track EP. Despite that she has snagged spots over those 5 year at Glastonbury, Latitude and Secret Garden, so you could say this has album, recorded at home in Kent, has been a long time coming.

http://www.myspace.com/evivine


FIRST PUBLISHED AT GOD IS IN THE TV
http://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=4897&type=Albums

Joana And The Wolf, Monto Water Rats, 24 Nov 2010

I must really like Joana And The Wolf a lot - third time I've seen them. Tonight they were at the venerable Water Rats in Kings Cross. They were third on in a four band line up. The others were a mixed bag. There was some skinhead looking band on before them who had lots of supporters in spangly shoes and dresses whooping it up. Just when I thought they might just turn out to be a tiny bit thoughtful like Plan B or The Streets, my hopes were dashed. They even had a song called 'Oi Jack' and the lead singer poured beer over himself. If I had made a note of who they were I'd tell you, honest guv. Their supporters liked them though. Wilder were on afterwards, good enough band, competent in a thrashy rock sort of way, but not enough to prevent me listening to 2 songs then choosing the tube over them. Sorry chaps.

As for Joana And The Wolf - they just keep getting better. There is mega-melodrama when Joana is singing, fabulously thundering compelling vocals and howling. The vox were saturating out at the top end at times or maybe that was me standing too near the speakers, but that really did little to get in the way. I was struck again by just what a f*cking good guitar player Ali is, with Katie and Louis keeping it more than tight in the engine room. They've been playing a together couple of years, and that shows in how developed they are. They should be huge already, and it's something I fully and confidently expect to see, especially when so much out there is so vapid, and this lot have so much heart.

Find more artists like Joana And The Wolf at Myspace Music

http://www.myspace.com/joanaandthewolf